Hot Topics:

Husband: I panicked, disposed of wife's body

Sentinel & Enterprise

Updated:
12/10/2012 03:51:46 PM EST

WORCESTER -- A Fitchburg man on trial for allegedly murdering his wife from an arranged marriage testified in Worcester Superior Court today that he panicked when he allegedly found her dead, disposed of her body and lied to police about her whereabouts.

Asim Amran, 34, formerly of 355 Summer St., Fitchburg, told jurors he disposed of Faiza Malik's body on Dec. 31, 2008, in a wooded area next to the Exit 5 onramp to Interstate 395 in Oxford after he'd returned home to find her deceased and two empty pill containers on the kitchen counter the previous day. Amran said he never called 911 and lied to state police investigators regarding Malik's disappearance because he believed he'd be blamed for her death, having been an unfaithful husband who had cheated on her with more than 10 other women.

Amran said he'd been in constant contact with his girlfriend at the time, Rukhsara Saffa (then O'Neill), immediately from the time he allegedly found Malik deceased and that she even allegedly offered her vehicle to him for disposing the body because her Nissan Altima was better suited to driving in blizzard-like conditions than his Suzuki.

He said he'd brought Saffa by that location five or six times afterward because they had contemplated giving Malik a proper burial, but they never got out of the car on any occasion.

Saffa testified last week that she hadn't known about Malik's death until later on in 2009, when Amran allegedly told her he'd murdered his wife and showed her the area in Oxford where he'd left her remains shortly before she informed state police about the body that summer.

Advertisement

Amran was the only witness called by the defense. Final arguments in the case are expected to begin Tuesday morning, followed by juror instructions and deliberation.

Welcome to your discussion forum: Sign in with a Disqus account or your social networking account for your comment to be posted immediately, provided it meets the guidelines. (READ HOW.)
Comments made here are the sole responsibility of the person posting them; these comments do not reflect the opinion of The Sentinel and Enterprise. So keep it civil.